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More than 60,000 students across the nation are now benefitting from the Aboitiz Group’s education-related initiatives last year, amounting to P437 million or about 72% of its total corporate social responsibility (CSR) budget allocation.

Of its P610 million CSR spending in 2014, 21% or P129 million was directed to health-related and other corporate donations; 5% or P30 million in enterprise development programs, and the remaining 2% or P15 million for environmental initiatives.

This has been the largest amount the Group has allocated so far, up by 26% from P483 million CSR budget in 2013.

“In our focus area of education, our goal is to achieve universal public education by continuing to establish and develop Aboitiz BetterWorld schools that promise a better learning environment,” said Aboitiz Group CEO and President Erramon Aboitiz.

In partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd), the Group, led by its social development arm Aboitiz Foundation, intensified the development of special science elementary schools (SSES) and technical-vocational (TechVoc) high schools to heed the government’s call for science-based skills specialization among and bring alternative learning to young students.

Apart from the construction of 27 more classrooms in Ilocos Sur, Laguna, Albay, and Cebu for SSES and TechVoc high schools, the Foundation will continue funding teachers’ training for Technical Education Skills Development Authority’s (TESDA) NCII certification.

In 2014, the Aboitiz Group allocated budget for the construction of 185 new classrooms to help address the issue of overcrowding and lack of classrooms in public schools nationwide. In the last 26 years, it has donated more than 800 classrooms.

The Foundation reported turning over 23 regular classrooms in 9 schools in Benguet, Cebu, and Davao del Sur last year. It also turned over 42 additional Silid Pangarap kindergarten classrooms in partnership with the Aklat , Gabay, Aruga tungo sa Pag-angat at Pag-asa (AGAPP) Foundation, which it has been supporting in the last four years.

Majority of the Foundation’s infrastructure building projects last year was focused on the Post-Yolanda Schools Rehabilitation Program where it surpassed its commitment to build or rehabilitate 200 classrooms. Early this year, the Foundation completed physical turnover of 272 classrooms to Northern Cebu schools devastated by the super typhoon.

“We strongly believe it is through education that we can create the greatest impact,” Aboitiz noted.

Since its inception, the Foundation has supported 26,540 scholars and donated 1,670 stand-alone computers and 979 thin-client units to various schools nationwide.

Established in 1988, the Aboitiz Foundation continues to pursue its mission to help people help themselves, implementing corporate social responsibility interventions especially in communities where Aboitiz companies operate. The foundation focuses its efforts on education, enterprise development, and environment but also carries out projects on health and well-being, as well as disaster preparedness and response. #